Siemens to track guns for the Mounties

The German industrial giant's computer services arm is aiming to help police keep track of their firearms.

3 January 200211:43 am AEDT

Siemens Business Services, the German industrial giant's computer services arm, is aiming to help police departments keep track of their firearms.

Siemens Business has announced it will develop and install a database computer system that will allow the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to automatically track firearms and schedule routine maintenance. The system will know which Mountie has been issued a particular firearm and where the officer is stationed.

When firearms are due for maintenance, the system will alert officers that it's time to ship their firearms to a police-run inspection center for a once-over.

Siemens Business, which is a large installer of SAP's flagship R/3 enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, said the new system will tie into back-office manufacturing and human resources applications, helping to streamline the transfer of data. For example, as new officers join the Mounties, the system will automatically update its roster of officers through a connection to data housed in the company's HR system.

The system will also link with a Mounties' database that captures information related to firearms for the new Canadian Firearms Registration System. A recent law requires registration of all firearms, including those used by the police and the military.

Siemens Business said the new system is slated to go live by September.